Never tease anything that wants to eat you. My name is April Tate and my blood is the new gold. Vampires and hybrids have overrun my world, once vibrant with life, but now a graveyard of death shrouded in shadows. I fight to survive; I fight for my mother and brother. The journey is full of turns that I am quite unprepared for. And I'm just hoping to make it to the next Vegas sunrise..."
In a post-apocalyptic world, a viral epidemic has wiped out most of the earth’s population, leaving behind few humans but untold numbers of mutated vampires. April is a seventeen-year-old girl who lives in the remains of Las Vegas one year after the outbreak. She has become a ferocious vampire killer and after her family is abducted, she goes searching for them. What she finds is a new breed of vampire, unlike any she has seen before. Unsure of whom she can trust, she discovers that her view of the world is not as black and white as she once thought, and she's willing to bend the rules to rescue her family. But in trying to save them, she may only succeed in bringing her fragile world crashing down around her.
Kami's Review: 4 Stars
April, her mother, and her brother Jeremy are the only humans living in a desolate post apocalyptic world where a virus has ravaged the population killing some while mutating others into feral vampire creatures. Her family has escaped the chaos into the mountains in a bunker run off solar energy. They travel into the city during the daylight hours to avoid run-ins with the ferals, gathering supplies to survive. April and her mother have turned into ferocious vampire killers in order to survive in this new savage world. When April's mother and brother are kidnapped in broad daylight April is at a loss of what to do. She is torn apart at the loss of her family and goes on a feral killing spree to sate her hunger for revenge. While searching for her family she stumbles upon a creature who is neither human nor feral but some hybrid. The hybrids can walk outside on cloudy days and can handle limited amounts of direct sunlight. Mirand who is the 1st hybrird that she meets takes April back to their 'bunker' to meet the leader of the hybrids. Although April is scared out of her mind she knows that these hybrids are not like the ferals that roam the earth, and she knows that she must get their help if she wants any chance to rescue her family. Not all hybrids are as accepting of a human as the leader of the clan, Blaze, is. It turns out though that April is not a mere human afterall, but a different kind of hybrid, one without the limitations of the others. April and her new 'friends' prepare for the battle that is sure to come to resuce her family.
I wont lie, it took me almost 35% into this book before I really got into it. She was all alone for that part of the book and I got really bored reading her thoughts and descriptions of everything. I need that dialogue with characters, that is what makes me love certain characters, and get to really know them. After I made it through that 1st part things really picked up. I have said it a million times, I am a sucker for a a bad ass chick. April could literally have bad ass tattooed on her forehead she kicks so much ass. I loved her personality and her drive to never give up. It dont matter the situation, or how outnumbered she might be, she wont lay down, she will go down fighting or not at all.
Blaze and Miranda were cool, but we didnt really get a lot of talk time with them, so I didnt feel as connected to them as I did to April and Rye. Rye was great of course. Cant have a love interest be lame. Dont know if this book was considered YA or not, but I would have really liked to have at least 1 good sex scene, but maybe thats just me, oh well.
Will I recommend this book? Yes
Will I read it again? Maybe
Will I read next in series? I dunno if this is even a series, but kinda seems like maybe we will get another book....? If there is another book to be written I will definately read it.
Lori's Review: 4 Stars
This was a good book. The first 10% is a little slow moving as we get to know April. The rest of the book is gripping as April fights off rabid vampires or Zompires as they seem to be a mix of both. When she meets the hybrid vampires she learns more about herself and learns that not all vampires are evil.
What I liked:
April was a good lead character. She was tough but had enough vulnerability to be believable. Ryes was a good match for her and although they suffer from what Author Rhiannon Frater calls insta-love/destined to be mated syndrome that is found in so many YA books these days. This is isn't quite as bad as Twilight because it's not drug out for pages and books on end. It's also not the main and only point of the book. As a matter fact it barely comes into play. Maybe mentioned 2 or 3 times which makes me wonder if this is going to be a series rather than a stand alone novel. The writing was good and the author gives great descriptions of dead Las Vegas, the zompires and the hybrids.
I loved Ryes. I know I know I just complained about the insta-love and I am suffering from it myself. What can I say I'm a girl who likes blood, gore and romance!!!
What I didn't like:
Insta-Love. I love a good love story but sometimes I just wish the characters could just have a 'normal' courtship. And really I think that they will have a more normal relationship than alot of relationships in book world. I think April is the kind to take it slow.
Everything was just a little to easy for April. It was like the author would write herself into a corner and then was like 'oh yeah by the way april has this special skill that she knew before that I forgot to mention' or 'oh yeah by the way April knows how to do such and such because she was never a normal teenager'. I know I'm not explaining it well but you'd know what I am talking about if you read the book. It's not horrible as it seems. This appears to be a starter novel and we will keep learning more about April.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and will recommend it to others and perhaps even reread it someday. If a sequel does come out I will read it.
**I messaged Alexia Purdy on facebook and she says she is planning this as an ongoing series and the next book should be due out later this year/early next year. Guess who is lining up for an ARC of that? That's right me!!!! Squee I love it when an author gives me more of the characters I love!!!
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